AND THERE'S SOME BAD NEWS TONIGHT FROM THE FEDS - ON MAINE'S REQUEST FOR HELP. THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT HAS REJECTED MAINE'S REQUEST TO DECLARE A DISASTER FOR DAMAGE CAUSED BY THE DECEMBER ICE STORM. THE FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY DETERMINED THAT DAMAGE "WAS NOT BEYOND THE CAPABILITIES OF THE STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS." OFFICIALS SAY IT'S A TOUGH BLOW. they were holding us to a standard that we would have to meet for a snowstorm, but because we didn't meet that standard, a lot of road treatment costs were not allowed, and of course that was a major expense for a lot of our communities. THE STATE DOCUMENTED MORE THAN ONE-POINT- EIGHT-MILLIO N DOLLARS IN DAMAGE FROM THE ICE STORM THAT KNOCKED OUT POWER TO MORE THAN 160-THOUSAND HOMES AND BUSINESSES AND LEFT MANY IN THE DARK FOR A WEEK. OFFICIALS SAY NO APPEAL WILL BE FILED OF THE FEDERAL DECISION.